Wall and corner paneling system



Sept. 23, 1969 M. e. SAUNDERS ETAL 3,468,089

WALL AND CORNER PANELING SYSTEM Filed July 11, 1966 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 r vv'evdons': 772 22 WWM. Jim M Sept. 23, 1969 SAUNDERS 3,468,089

WALL AND CORNER PANELING SYSTEM 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed July 11, 1966 United States Patent f US. Cl. 52-275 2 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE An interior wall paneling system of a type utilizing a plurality of vertical interior wall panels each comprised of a core having a thin decorative face sheet secured thereto, the system including an improved outside corner construction for such paneling system and also improved means for interconnecting adjacent panels to one another.

The present invention relates to an interior wall paneling system comprised of a plurality of vertical wall panels interconnected by exposed and/or concealed vertical splines. The invention further relates to improved panel structures for creating a one piece fabricated outside corner panel for a panel wall installation.

The object of the present invention is to provide an improved wall paneling system which is relatively strong and rigid in its construction, pleasing in appearance, and exceptionally easy to install.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following description thereof.

Now in order to acquaint those skilled in the art with the manner of making and using our invention, we shall describe, in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, the best mode contemplated by us for carrying out the invention.

In the drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a fragmentary perspective view showing a paneled interior wall system constructed in accordance with the teachings of the present invention;

FIGURE 2 is an enlarged fragmentary horizontal sectional view, taken substantially along the line 22 of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 3 is a fragmentary exploded view of two panel leg members which are secured together in an improved manner to fabricate a one-piece outside corner panel for the paneling system of FIGURES 1 and 2; and

FIGURE 4 is a fragmentary horizontal sectional view showing an alternative form of a one-piece outside corner panel which provides a radiused corner.

Referring now to the drawings, there are shown a plurality of vertical wall panels 20, 22 and 24, and a onepiece outside corner panel 26 comprised of left-hand and right-hand leg portions 28 and 30. In addition, there is shown a ceiling portion 32, a floor 34, and a base 36. Each of the wall panels and the one-piece outside corner panel is comprised of a relatively thick core having a relatively thin face and backing sheet bonded thereto. Thus, taking the wall panel 24 by way of example, the panel comprises a relatively thick core 38 made of wood particle board, plywood or other fibrous board, and a laminated plastic face sheet 40 or other decorative sheet made of vinyl, Tedlar, acrylics or the like is bonded to the front of the core 38 by means of a thermosetting synthetic resin adhesive or contact bond adhesive or other suitable adhesive. In addition, a sheet 42 of backing material is bonded in a similar manner to the back of the core 38. It will be understood that each of the wall panels mentioned above is constructed in the manner described with respect to the wall panel 24 so as to comprise a relatively thick fiakeboard or fibrous core having a decorative faced 3,468,089 Patented Sept. 23, 1969 laminate plastic or other decorative sheet bonded to the front thereof and a sheet of backing material bonded to the opposite side of the core.

In the installation of the wall paneling system of the present invention, a plurality of furring strips, two of which are indicated at 44 and 46 in FIGURE 2, are secured to a wall supporting structure 48. For example, the furring may comprise a plurality of 1" x 3" furring strips arranged horizontally and spaced apart vertically in a conventional manner, and they may be mechanically fastened as by nails or the like to the wall supporting structure 48.

Referring now to the installation of the wall panel members 20, 22 and 24, and the one-piece outside corner panel 26, it will be assumed that the panel 22 is the first panel to be installed on the wall being described. Thus, the end of the panel 22 is cut to form a rabbet joint as indicated at 50, and a plurality of wire brads 52 are driven through the projecting rear edge portion 50 of the panel into corresponding ones of the vertically spaced furring strips 44. The first panel 20 on the adjacent perpendicular wall is then positioned in place to form an inside corner as indicated generally at 54. The left hand end of the wall panel 22 is then secured to the furring strips 44 by means of a plurality of vertically spaced wire brads 56 which are nailed through a projecting edge portion 58 and into corresponding ones of the horizontal furring strips.

After the panel 22 has been firmly secured to the furring strips 44 in the manner described above, a spline member 60 is slid laterally into a slot 62 provided therefor in the left-hand side of the panel. The spline 60 extends the full height of the panel 22 and it can be made of laminated plastic or other desired decorative material. It will also be noted that the spline 60 is a relatively thin oblong member which is rectangular in horizontal section, and the slot 62 is formed with flat front and rear sides spaced apart an amount slightly greater than the thickness of the spline. Once the spline member 60 has been placed in position, the next wall panel 24 is slid laterally into place so that a groove or slot 64 formed in the right side of the panel 24 receives the left hand side of the spline 60. It will be noted that allowance is made for expansion spaces between the sides of the spline 60 and the ends of the corresponding slots 62 and 64, as well as between the adjacent ends of the panels 22 and 24.

The front face of the spline member 60 is partially exposed due to a cut away portion at a front left hand edge 66 of the panel 22 and at a front right hand edge 68 of the panel 24. Thus, the front face of the spline 60 may be utilized to provide a decorative effect, and may either match or contrast with the faces of the main wall panels 20, 22 and 24 and the one piece outside corner panel 26. It Will also be understood that the spline member 60 not only conceals the wire brads 56 which anchor the left hand end of the panel 22 to the furring strips 44, but also interconnects the panels 22 and 24 so that it is not necessary to provide any additional wire brads or the like for securing the right hand end of the panel 24 to the furring.

The left hand end of the panel 24 is provided with a vertical groove or slot 70. A spline member 72 is slid laterally into the slot 70 and extends the full height of the panel. Once the spline member 72 has been placed in the slot 70, the left-hand end of the panel 24 is anchored to the furring strips 44 by means of a plurality of vertically spaced wire brads 74 which are driven through the spline 72, through the back edge portion 76 of the panel 24, and into corresponding ones of the furring strips.

After the spline member 72 has been secured in position, the one-piece outside corner panel 26 is installed.

However, it should be understood that the corner panel 26 is fabricated and assembled before being secured to the furring strips, Thus, a plurality of vertically spaced horizontal holes 78 are drilled into a core 80 of the righthand leg member 30 so as to extend through the entire width of the core, and the holes are then counterbored as shown at 82. The left-hand end of the leg member 30 is provided with a face sheet 84 which projects beyond the side edge of the core 80 (see FIGURE 3) by an amount which at least equals the thickness of the leg member 28, and the right-hand side edge of the leg member 30 has a vertical slot 86 formed therein which extends the full height of the leg member. Contact bond adhesive is applied both to the side edge of the left hand leg member 28 and to the inside of the overhanging portion of the face sheet 84 on the right-hand leg 30 so as to firmly secure the face sheet of the right-hand leg to the side edge of the left-hand leg and thereby form the one-piece outside corner panel. A plurality of Wood screws 86 are positioned in the holes 78 and screwed into the core 88 of the left-hand leg 28 so as to firmly secure the two legs 28 and 30 together to form the one-piece outside corner panel 26. Thereafter, any excess length of the face sheet 84 which projects beyond the outer front edge of the face 90 of the left-hand leg 28 is cut off and bevelled to provide the desired corner effect without the necessity for any covering moulding or the like.

The assembled one-piece outside corner panel 26 is positioned so that the vertical slot 86 in the right-hand leg 30 receives the left hand side of the spline 72. It will be noted that allowance is made for expansion spaces between the sides of the spline 72 and the ends of the corresponding slots 70 and 86, as well as between the adjacent ends of the wall panel 24 and the corner panel 26. It should also be noted that adhesive as indicated at 92 is applied between the rear face of the leg member 30 and the furring strips 44 and 46. The left-hand leg 28 of the corner panel 26 is provided with a vertical groove or slot 94, and a spline member 96 is slid laterally into the slot 94. The end of the left-hand leg member 28 is then anchored to the furring strips 46 by means of a plurality of vertically spaced wire brads 98 which are driven through the spline 96, through a. back edge portion 100 of the leg 28, and into corresponding ones of the vertically spaced furring strips 46.

It will be understood from the foregoing that the spline member 60 between the adjacent ends of the panels 22 and 24 is substantially exposed due to the cut-away areas at the front edge portions 66 and 68 of the panels, whereas the spline member 72 is substantially concealed. With any of the foregoing types of joints, only one of the adjacent panel end portions needs to be secured by wire brads or the like to the furring strips, since the interconnecting spline member will serve to anchor the other panel end in position.

Moreover, the spline members will conceal all of the wire brads so that only the panels themselves and/or a predetermined portion of the decoratve face of each spline member will be visible.

Reference is now made to FIGURE 4 which shows an alternative form of outside corner panel 102 which provides a radiused corner effect as contrasted with the square corner afforded by the previously described outside corner panel 26. There is shown the corner panel 102 which comprises a left-hand leg member 104 and a right-hand leg member 106. A portion of the backing material 108 on the left-hand leg 104 is sanded, and thermosetting resin adhesive is applied at the side edge portion 110 of the right-hand leg 106. Thereafter, the left and right hand legs 104 and 106 are assembled to gether and a plurality of wire brads 112 are driven through the side edge of the member 104 and into the side edge of the member 106 to effect a firm joint. The corner thus formed is then radiused to provide the desired arcuate configuration, after which a post-formed laminated plastic sheet or other decorative face sheet 114 is bonded to the left and right hand cores 116 and 118 with thermosetting synthetic resin adhesive or contact bond adhesive or the like. The post-forming of the face sheet 114 is accomplished by conventional post-forming methods so as to impart the desired arcuate configuration to the face sheet corresponding substantially to the radiused corner effect provided by the joined core members 116 and 118.

The wall paneling system of the present invention is rigid and sturdy in its construction since one side edge portion of each panel is firmly secured to the furring strips by a plurality of wire brads, while the other side edge is held in position by a corresponding spline member. The configurations of the splines and the wall panels and the one piece outside corner panel are extremely easy to install. The splines not only conceal all of the wire brads but also provide a pleasing decorative effect of V-joints or partially exposed front faces thereof. In addition, the rabbeted front edges on the side edge portions of the panels as shown at 66 and 68 provide clearance areas which greatly facilitate nailing of the projecting rear edge portions to the furring. Moreover, the one piece outside corner panel as indicated at 26 is especially rigid and yet is pleasing in appearance, requires no covering moulding or self-edging strips or the like, and is relatively simple to construct.

While We have described our invention in certain preferred forms, we do not intend to be limited to such forms, except insofar as the appended claims are so limited, since variations coming Within the scope of our invention will be readily apparent to others, particularly with our disclosure before them.

We claim:

1. In an interior wall paneling structure of the type having a plurality of vertical interior wall panels, each comprised of a core with a decorative face sheet secured thereto, and anchored to a wall supporting structure to provide a paneled wall installation, the improvement comprising an outside corner assembly including, in combination, a first narrow vertical interior wall panel leg member having a thin decorative face sheet bonded to the front side thereof, a first panel leg member being positioned against a wall supporting structure adjacent a corner thereof and disposed so that one side edge of said leg member projects beyond a corner edge of said supporting structure by an amount approximately equal to the thickness of said leg member, a second narrow vertical interior wall panel leg member having a thin decorative face sheet bonded to the front side thereof, said second panel leg member being positioned against said wall supporting structure adjacent said corner and disposed perpendicular to said first panel leg member with the side edge of said second leg member closely adjacent said projecting edge of said first leg member to define therewith an outside corner of the paneling structure, said face sheet on said second leg member being extended beyond the edge of a core portion of said second leg member by an amount approximately equal to the thickness of said first panel leg member so as to overlie and conceal the adjacent edge of said first panel leg member and meet with the edge of said face sheet on said first panel leg member to define therewith a decorative covering face for said outside corner, said second panel leg member having a plurality of vertically spaced counterbored holes formed approximately horizontally through the width thereof, and fastening means which extend from the bottom of the counterbored portion of said holes into the core of said first panel leg member to firmly secure together the adjacent edges of said leg members and thereby form a unitary one-piece outside corner panel assembly, said fastening means and said holes being fully concealed by said face sheets.

2. The invention of claim 1 wherein said fastening means comprise a plurality of wood screws which extend through said holes in said second panel leg member and into engagement with the core of said first panel leg member, and Where the portion of the face sheet on said second panel leg member which overlies and conceals the adjacent edge of said first panel leg member is bonded by an adhesive to said edge of said first leg member.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS Olsen 52-471 Tashjian 52-540 Shannon 52-471 Butcher 52-586 Williston 52-285 Mascio 52-285 Buck et a1. 52-618 Kuenzli 52-406 6 2,835,938 5/1958 McElloy 52-586 3,085,301 4/1963 Nuorivaara 52-461 3,175,940 3/1965 Talmey 52-615 3,280,522 10/1966 Palfey et a1. 52 309 5 FOREIGN PATENTS 124,939 5/1931 Austria.

US. Cl. X.R. 

